“Array processing” is the term used for signal processing of the outputs of an array of sensors. A “sensor array” is a group of sensors located at spatially separated points.
Array processing focuses on data collected at the sensors to carry out a given task. Example of array processing goals are to determine the number of emitting sources, the locations of these sources, their waveforms, and other signal parameters.
Sensor arrays are used in diverse applications across a broad range of disciplines. Examples of array processing applications are radar, sonar, seismic exploration, and communications.
A sensor array may also be said to be a “multi-channel” array, which means that its output may be delivered in multiple channels to a remote processing system. One of the limiting factors in the development of an array processing system is the cost of adding an additional sensor. For a multi-channel array, much of the cost of the system comes from the many parallel channels of processing, one for each sensor output. The cost is usually driven not by the price of the sensors, but rather by the hardware needed to properly sample and process the input from the sensors.